


Love Languages

by arcanathirst



Series: Looking for Home [5]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Fluff, Romance, unspecified AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-20 15:05:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16558028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcanathirst/pseuds/arcanathirst
Summary: How do you express your love? A lingering touch, a gift maybe? A compliment, or a kind deed? Or perhaps a little time, as much as you can spare?A look at Mine's love languages, and how they express it to the people in their life





	Love Languages

**Author's Note:**

> Self-indulgent shippy stuff ahoy! The first one is with @vargatheapprentice's apprentice, Varga

Out of the corner of their eye, Mine was sure Varga had been peering at them for some time now.  

At first, they thought he was interested in the book in their hands,  _A_ _Deconstruction of Common Curses: Revising Southern Hexes_ –a fantastic read–  but his eyes kept landing on their face. 

Maybe he had a question, but was too shy to disturb their reading. They turned to him, catching him as he was staring, and he froze, mouth open.  

“How’s the reading going?” they asked. 

He blinked and his eyes fell on his books. “Oh, _oh_. Great! I’ve been wanting to read up on eastern magic, and it’s amazing how the principles behind their magic systems work and how it differs from the ones found here.” 

“I know right?? Talking about eastern magic, Balayu’s curses and contracts are something else! I can’t imagine being brave enough to try half the stuff that’s ‘common practice’ there.” 

He nodded happily, but stopped, as if he wasn’t supposed to be enjoying himself. 

“Hey, is something wrong?” They frowned, looking at the books surrounding him. Spells were tricky, and magicians were trickier, so it was no surprise if authors slipped one or two ‘gifts’ for their readers. “Was, was there something bad in those books?” 

“Huh, no, nothing like that. It’s just…” He glanced away, his forehead scrunched in deep thought. “Mine…” He looked at them, and those icy blue eyes seemed to pierce to Mine’s soul. 

Now they had to resist the urge to look away. “Y-yeah?” 

“Isn’t there somewhere else you’d like to be?” 

“What do you mean? Should I want to be somewhere else?”  

He gestured in the direction of the doors and windows. “The marketplace, the palace, the town square. You could be anywhere else.” 

“OK…” they nodded slowly. He was speaking in riddles and they’d never been good at those. 

“Why are you here then?” 

“Because you said we could hang out and talk about magic? Wait, were we gonna do something else– did I forget some other plans we had?”

Their mind raced as they dug through their memories for some clue, some hint. Had it been a special occasion?

Their eyes widened in horror. “I didn’t forget your _birthday_ , did I?” 

Surprise flitted his face and a soft laugh escaped his lips, making Mine's heart flutter.  “No, my birthday’s ages away.” 

“Oh… Did I forget something else then? Ah, I’m really sorry, I’m such an idiot.”  

They rapped their knuckles against the side of their head, going for a playful gesture, but it felt like a stupid joke instead.  

“Haha…” they said weakly. They tugged at their fringe, trying to hide their face. “Don’t mind me, I’m just...haha, uh, yknow, me.” 

The silence was heavy, and the awkwardness just made it heavier. 

Wait, if he wasn’t talking about their plans, maybe... he was trying to get them to leave, without outright saying it. “Uhh, did you want me to go somewhere else? I don’t mind leaving if I’m bothering you or anything–” 

“No!” He blinked, seeming just as surprised as Mine at his outburst. “I– That’s not what I meant.” He sighed. 

“Then why are you telling me this kinda stuff, that I could be somewhere else or whatever?” 

“Because, you could be. You’re good with people and you have fun wherever you go. It, it doesn’t make sense. When you could have all that, why would you choose to be in a dusty old library all day?” 

Did he really think that? _Why_ would he think that? 

“But it’s great being here!” Mine protested. “I can read up on magic, and talk about magic, and, and  umm... your library’s not dusty, because you always take good care of it.” They ran their finger along a shelf and held it up. “See? Not a speck.” 

They closed the book they were reading and set it aside, shifting their position so their entire body was facing him. 

“Besides, it’s fun spending time with you, Varga. Who else am I going to discuss the complexities of multi-level charm-casting with?” They clasped his hands in theirs. “And, even if it’s not about charms or any kind of magic, I want to hang out with you. I, well, I just really like being with you, OK?” 

He turned beet red. “O-OK.” 

“Oh but if I am bothering you, just gimme the word and I’ll be out of your hair.” 

“You’re not bothering me. I do like you messing up my hair– uh–” 

“Literally or metaphorically?” 

“What?” A pause. “B-both?” 

They released his hands and ran their fingers through his hair, mussing it up. 

“Like this?” 

“Y-yeah.” A quiet groan left his lips. “Can, can you keep doing that?” 

“Sure. Why don’t you rest your head here for a bit?” They gestured to their lap. “You look tired.” 

His eyes widened momentarily, but he quickly relaxed as Mine continued fiddling with his hair. “Mmm alright...”  

Slowly, he placed his head on Mine’s lap, while they played with his dark locks. 

“This is,” He yawned. “nice.” 

“Yeah, it is.” 

He opened his eyes, his expression soft and sleepy. “Even if we’re just doing this, you’d be happy?” 

Mine smiled back. “Yup. Just being with you makes me happy.” 

“Why is that, Mine?” 

“Dunno. Hmm, maybe because I like you? Ah yeah, that’s probably it. The more I like someone, the more I want to be around them, and I like you a lot, Varga.” 

He stared at them, like he was going to say something, but sighed instead. “Well, I guess... I like you too, Mine.” 

Mine beamed, feeling warm inside. “I’m glad to hear it.” 

Varga fell asleep not long after that, with Mine following soon after. It had been an afternoon meant for studying, but as they both would agree later on, it had been the perfect afternoon for a nap.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I adore these magic-obsessed nerds & I hoped you enjoyed reading abt them both too <3 <3


End file.
